Flame Hawk W/ White Spots???

[rc1626]

I have a Flame Hawkfish in QT. I got him a little over a week ago. He's been fine since a couple days ago. Started not eating and yesterday started showing whitish spots behind right eye. (As seen in pick) Not sure how to diagnose.
20 Gallon long QT. Up and running for about two months. Completely cycled.
Water Parameters:
Salinity 1.024
PH 8.3 - was a little higher due to dosing w/ a ph buffer (8.6 - 8.7)
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0
I looked through Beth's thread identifying many types of diseases but couldn't find a match.
PH - RO water used as top off which will drop the ph in my quarantine and I added a little to much ph buffer. A couple of water changes got it back down to where it is now.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
Rob

 

[beth]

It looks like he is developing head and lateral line erosion. There is info on this in the FAQ Thread at the top of this forum. Take a look at that info.
What and how often are you feeding? Is he doing ok, aside from this? Start using zoecon supplements on meaty foods.

 

[rc1626]

Thanks for the reply Beth. It's so nice to have you as a resource when needed. Your advice is always appreciated. I will go back and take a look at the HLLE segment in the other post.
Some additional info to assess. About 2 days ago I removed a herald's angel from my DT to the QT not for health issues but due to it picking at my corals. Yeah 50/50 chance a dwarf angel won't pick.....well you know what half of that I got. Anyway, I noticed tonight when going down to feed the QT the Hawk was in his usual spot since this whole thing came about. He's been hanging out perched up on top of the heater against the back wall. I put some food in and he did not go for it. I chased him off of his perch to see if him being closer to the food would help but no it did not. As he is sitting on the bottom I notice the angel make a run at him. First time I ever noticed this behavior from the angel. Even when he was in the DT. I'm starting to think that maybe the angel has something to do with the hawk's behavior and physical appearance lately. I had a tank separator which I immediately put in to separate the two. I'm hoping this will help. In addition to this I've also started soaking the food (brine & mysis) in zoecon. Prior to this I used vita-chem religiously. Fish just seemed to prefer it over the zoecon. So now it will be a wait and see.
Will HLLE show itself bilaterally on a fish or could it begin on just one side? Right now the marks you see in the pic are just on that side. If you know of anything else that would be of help it would be appreciated. Angel will be going back to LFS in a day or two.
Thanks again!
Rob

 

[rc1626]

White spots are now gone but where they were the scales are raised, bumpy. He still is not eating (fresh garlic & zoecon mixed in food) and is still breathing rather heavily. Any ideas???? Beth, Sep?
Any more advise would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Rob

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by rc1626
http:///forum/post/2501292
White spots are now gone but where they were the scales are raised, bumpy. He still is not eating (fresh garlic & zoecon mixed in food) and is still breathing rather heavily. Any ideas???? Beth, Sep?
Any more advise would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Rob
That looked like HLLE or lymphocystis to me. You cannot get this hawk to eat? What foods are you trying on him? For the bumps, take a good look with a magnifying glass. I know flames can be hard to keep still. Does he come to you when he sees you?

 

[rc1626]

Well, fish died this morning. Luckily I purchased him from a big online site and was refunded the purchase price no questions asked. Thanks for the help Beth & Sep.
Rob

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by rc1626
http:///forum/post/2502605
Well, fish died this morning. Luckily I purchased him from a big online site and was refunded the purchase price no questions asked. Thanks for the help Beth & Sep.
Rob
I am sorry that he died.

 

[rc1626]

Thanks Sep.
Yeah, I'm bummed. I will try another in the next few weeks. I love their personality. Cool little fish. I just wish I new exactly what he had and how it occured so I could treat or prevent it from happening again. By the way you were asking what I was feeding him. He was actually eating frozen brine and mysis for about the first week. Soaked of course in Vita-Chem. And yeah he came right to the front of the tank at feeding time until he fell ill.
Thanks again.
Rob